Richard Lonergan

Richard "Peg Leg" Lonergan (16 January 1900-26 December 1925) was the boss of the White Hand Gang from 1923 to 1925, succeeding Bill Lovett.

Biography
Richard Lonergan was born on 16 January 1900 in Brooklyn, New York City, United States to a family of Irish immigrants. Lonergan became known as "Peg Leg" after losing his right leg in a trolleycar accident, and he befriended Bill Lovett while the two of them were young. Lonergan was involved in twelve murders as a member of the White Hand Gang, and he was known for his hatred of Italians, attacking them in saloons and dive bars along the waterfront. After the murder of Lovett in 1923, Lonergan took over the gang, and he fought against Frankie Yale and the Chicago Outfit for two years. On 25 December 1925, Lonergan and several friends attended a Christmas party at the Adonis Social Club, and a drunken Lonergan yelled at some Irish girls for having Italian dates, asking them to come back with "white men". Suddenly, the lights went out, and gunmen mortally wounded Lonergan. Lonergan was hospitalized, but he refused to talk to the police, claiming that he had been shot by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting. He died the next day.